


Stories of the Past

by likethenight



Series: Writers' Month 2020 [16]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Legends, Writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25974352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likethenight/pseuds/likethenight
Summary: Frodo thinks about stories a lot, in the months after his return to Bag End.Ficlet written for Writers' Month 2020, day 18, prompt "myths"
Series: Writers' Month 2020 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867720
Comments: 8
Kudos: 4
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	Stories of the Past

Frodo thinks about stories a lot, in the months after his return to Bag End. He thinks of the tales his Uncle Bilbo told him when he was little, tales of Elves and Dwarves, heroes and villains, some of them whom Bilbo had known personally on his adventures. He thinks of the stories he read when he was a little older, in the books in Bilbo’s little library, and those in the books he was allowed to borrow from the library in Rivendell, when he was recovering from his injury at the beginning of his own adventure.

The legends of the distant past take on a rather different colour when one is able actually to meet some of the people involved, Frodo thinks. Lord Elrond for one, of course, but also Lord Glorfindel and Master Erestor, Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. They had all featured in the stories from his childhood (with the exception of Master Erestor, who was there but, by his own admission, had always liked to stay out of the way of the chroniclers), and none of them were at all how he had imagined them. Especially not Glorfindel; the impression Frodo had had from the tale of the fall of Gondolin was of a great, noble, gallant warrior who had gladly laid down his life for his people, but the real Glorfindel was - well, he was all of those things, but he was also an inveterate teller of jokes and tall tales, and he had a long list of corrections to the story of his most famous (and, regrettably, last) day.

Frodo had not felt able to ask Lord Elrond about his own story, but Master Erestor had kindly answered some of his questions; Frodo thought that he had found a kindred spirit in Lord Elrond’s librarian, who seemed to know everything there was to know about absolutely everything, and was happy to share his knowledge with an interested soul. From some throwaway asides, Frodo gathered that although the Lady Arwen had been a diligent scholar, her brothers had been somewhat less inclined to pay attention in their history lessons. But Frodo had found himself drinking in everything that Master Erestor had to say, and he had learned so very much.

He had forgotten a lot of it for a time, on the Quest, but now that he is home again in Bag End, he has found it coming back to him again, and he has made sure to note down as much as he can remember. He wonders if he might perhaps invite Master Erestor to break his journey to the Grey Havens and visit Bag End, when he travels to sail West, so that Frodo could have one last discussion with him, and fill in the gaps in his memory.

And then, of course, there is Frodo’s own story, for now he himself is a person in a historic tale all his own. Well, his, and Sam’s, Merry’s and Pippin’s, and indeed the whole Fellowship’s. He is beginning to write it down now, having taken some notes in Minas Tirith from the tales the others told of the adventures they were having while he and Sam were journeying to Mordor. Some parts are easier than others to write, but he is determined to get through all of it, and then when it is finished he will give the book to Sam, and he - well, he is only really beginning to put his plan together in his head now, but he intends, once he has finished writing his story, to give it to Sam and then to go to the Grey Havens himself, and sail to the Undying Lands. Perhaps there he will find some respite from the darkness that plagues his thoughts, the constant ache of the wound from the Nazgûl blade. 

That’s the thing, he thinks, about being a character in a story, one that has long become legend and myth. All of the little details of what you really experienced are lost, and you are reduced only to the barest outline of your deeds. He will do his best to tell his tale, but if anyone comes to read it in days yet to come, they will not know how he felt, not truly, they will not be able to discern the pain and the terror and the hopelessness, no matter how well he manages to write. He thinks he understands a little better now how Glorfindel must feel, to have come back to Middle-Earth and found himself a character in a tale that only told a fraction of the story.

But he will do his best, and he will try to do justice to everyone he has met, as he writes the story of all their adventures. And perhaps, in those days to come, his words might inspire others to have adventures of their own, just as the tales with which he grew up inspired him.


End file.
